Perillyl Alcohol and Breast Cancer

Perillyl alcohol, found in the essential oils of palmarosa and lavender, makes cancer cells more sensitive to the chemotherapy drug, cisplatin. Perillyl alcohol activates tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 which helps to trigger cell death in cancer cells. As perillyl alcohol causes nausea and digestive complaints when taken orally, my recommendation is to use it topically over any breast tumour or for prevention of cancer.